My 10k Race That Made Me a TV Star!

A week ago I ran The Omaha Corporate Cup 10k. It was my second race and my first 10k. The morning was pretty chilly, we had to wear light jackets and gloves. There were around 4,000 runners. The elite runners got to run an hour before the rest of us. The seeded runners, of course, were in the front, then the regular runners (I'm not sure what we are categorized as) and the walkers at the back. Being in a race is very exciting, whether it's a small crowd or large. My first race was just over one hundred people, very small but the excitement was just as great as this one.

D2 and her friend N are faster runners and, even though they were several rows behind us, passed D1, W and me before we even crossed the starting line, which took us a minute or two to get across due to the large crowd. It's a good thing we had chips on the back of our bibs.

D1, W and I had decided earlier to use the Jeff Galloway method of running - to run/walk from the beginning, not to wait until getting tired before walking. D1 and W had originally thought they would run one mile/walk one mile but I thought that would make us tired too soon, after all, we're new to this running and racing stuff. So we decided to run 5 minutes and walk one minute.

Well, after about a mile or so at that ratio we were getting a bit fatigued and started using 5/2. After a few intervals at that ratio and getting a little rested, we decided to use what Galloway had actually suggested, a 4/1 ratio which worked pretty good for almost the rest of the race.

At one point I used my inhaler even though I had used it about two hours prior to the race. This caused the girls to get a little concerned about me so I had to assure them I was fine, just needed a little boost from the inhaler.

Sometime between the fourth and fifth miles I felt I needed to take an extra minute of walking (which the other two were glad I did as they were feeling it too) but then resumed our 4/1 ratio for about the next mile then we just ignored our timers and ran until we needed to walk but always tried to keep the walking short.

Finally I told the girls to go ahead, that I was just going to go at a slower pace and would be fine. They reluctantly left me and would occasionally look back to see how I was doing. I just kept running some then walking some, always making sure I ran more than walked. The last mile was up hill, not steep but a steady incline.

I lost sight of the girls as they turned the final corner towards the finish line. I wanted to be sure I ran the last half mile and that I came around that corner running. I was so happy after turning the corner because from there it went downhill! I could see D1 and W going across the finish line.

As I was running toward the finish I kept looking around for D2 and the rest of the family but couldn't find them. I picked up my pace a little and just before hitting the finish line I heard my granddaughter shout 'Go Gramma!'. I turned to my left and could see everyone standing at the finish line and I raised my arms in the air as I ran across the finish! I was so happy I had completed the race and I wasn't last!

When I stopped running my legs felt like wet noodles and almost buckled. I started walking toward my family, stumbled and almost fell on my face. D2 came over to me and gave me a high five then gave me a big hug. When I got to the side with the rest of the family I got big hugs from all of them. They said how proud they were of me for funning the race. The grandkids thought I was awesome!

As I was going across the finish I also noticed someone with a camera standing with my family and following me as I crossed and as I was getting high-fived and hugged. When I got to where everyone was standing I noticed it was a reporter. She had been interviewing D2 when she said 'here comes my mom. She has asthma'. Apparently the reporter asked her what made her decide to run this race.

The Corporate Cup is sponsored by the American Lung Association, so when D2 mentioned that I had asthma the reporter zoomed in on me. When I got over to where everyone was standing, and after hugging everyone, I needed to sit so I sat down on the curb and leaned against a light pole. She knelt down in front of me and started asking me questions. One was 'you have asthma and ran in this race. Would you tell other people with asthma and other lung diseases that they could do this too?' I told her yes, that I trained with the Omaha Running Club and ran my first 5k on Labor Day and this is my first 10k. Its hard work, but well worth it!

Then the reporter went back to D2 and asked her why she decided to run this race. D2 told her 'I had been doing a little running for a while but never felt I could run a race, but when my mom, who has asthma, asked me to run a 5k with her, I thought if she could run a race having asthma, than I certainly could run it too'. I felt so proud of her and had tears in my eyes.

Well, my part of the interview was aired on the evening news, but unfortunately they cut out my daughter's interview. I got quite a few positive comments and congratulations from friends and co-workers that saw that clip. Some of the comments were 'You're a TV star'.

There was a time during the race when I questioned my decision to run a 10k having just begun running and only ran one 5k. I felt I might have bit off more than I could chew but I never once felt like quitting. My race time was 1:21:22. I don't remember what my pace was calculated to be. The only thing I really care about is that I did it. As tired as I was when I finished, I felt awesome for the rest of the day.

Finally, my first 5k report

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I ran my very first 5k and I haven't even told you all about it! There are a few reasons though, one is my computer still had some problems and another is I'm so tired all the time and don't know if it's due to the running or something else.

Anyway, my first 5k was on Labor Day. I was excited and a bit nervous. I met my daughters at the event. My youngest daughter (D2, the personal trainer) brought 6 of her boot campers and her 11 year old daughter and her friend (they both ran it too). My oldest daughter (D1) brought her sister-in-law (W). We had a nice sized group! I introduced them to several of the women in my running group.

I met up with a friend (F) I met in the training sessions and met her husband and son. Her son participates in Ironman Triathlons. It's really great that he supports her and gives her training tips. She and I had planned to run the 5k together. I teased her telling her when we got close to the finish line I was going to kick it and leave her in the dust. We all got a good laugh at that - she's almost 6 feet tall and I'm five feet! But, we're both slow and can pace each other.

The girls of course ran ahead of me and I ran with F. She and I kept each other paced and motivated. The race was small (about 120 women and kids) and the course was an out and back, so I got to see many of the people from the training group and my daughters and granddaughter as they were on their way back. It was pretty awesome to give the girls high fives as we passed each other! And the words of encouragement from them and the other women made it fun, inspiring and motivating.

Then, when F and I had less than a mile to go I started feeling nauseous and very tired.  F kept talking to me and tried to keep my mind off of how I was feeling. Twice I said I just couldn't keep going and tried to stop but both times she grabbed my arm and pulled me along. I told her she didn't have to worry (as if she ever was) because there was no way I would be able to 'kick it' at the end. At that point I started thinking to myself 'why am I doing this'!

Finally, as we came around the last curve, we could see the people lined up along the trail by the finish line and could hear them yelling for us to run faster. I saw my son-in-law standing with his camera taking pictures and I remember giving him two thumbs up but feeling very tired. F and I just kept our normal pace until one of the guys I knew yelled 'hurry, go faster or the little girl behind you is going to beat you'. I looked back and saw this little eight year old girl and her mom not far behind us.

I don't know how I managed to do it, but I just started sprinting! I yelled and motioned at F to 'hurry, go faster'. I could hear my family and friends yelling 'go, go, go'! Just as I was about to cross the finish line that little girl passed me on my right, her mom was right next to me and F was suddenly on my left. That little girl beat me by one second! Her mom and I crossed at the same time and F was just one second behind me. It was very exciting! Suddenly, I was feeling pumped and couldn't wait to do it again!

It's crazy the adrenaline rush I got after putting my body through the hardest workout it has ever done and wondering why I was doing it. About a week before the race I ran 3 miles in 40 minutes. I ran the 5k in 39:59 - 1/10th of a mile longer and one second faster. The improvement I have made in the past month is amazing!

I'm still helping my sister with the running program that I did. We run together twice a week. I'm also trying to run with my oldest daughter, but her business (she's a photographer) and her husband's long hours make it difficult for her. We've had to bring her three daughters on their bikes. It's not difficult with the two oldest girls because they can ride rings around u, but the 5 yo is still using training wheels and didn't like having to ride so far and being left behind by her sisters.

Tomorrow D1, D2, W and I are running the Corporate Cup 10k. D2 will leave us in the dust of course. D1, W and I have a plan to run it using the Jeff Galloway run/walk program.  At first the plan was to run 1 mile and walk 1 mile. But after thinking about it, that would take us way too long to complete the race if we walked every other mile. So we've decided to change it to run 10 min/walk 1 min or maybe 5/1. I have it all programmed in Little Red so we can make the decision when we get there. I just hope it doesn't rain (it's been raining all day today).

I've been having some leg pain the past several weeks and it has gotten a little worse. The pain actually starts right in the middle of my left buttock and goes down to the middle of the back of the thigh. I also get pain on the outside of my right knee. I'm trying to be sure to stretch well, even used my Yoga for Athletes video. I've taken Ibuprofen which helped but cause very bad heartburn. Today I started using Aleve, just once so far, but it hasn't helped yet. I hope it doesn't hurt tomorrow and that I don't make it worse. If anyone has any tips on how to treat this pain, please let me know.

I've rambled enough for one post and need to get my running gear together for tomorrow. I'll be sure to report on the 10k much sooner than I did for the 5k.

Three Miles, a Sick Computer and a 5k

A few weeks ago my personal computer got infected with a virus. One day I was reading my email and just surfing the net when suddenly I got a pop up Windows Security Alert from a yellow shield that mysteriously appeared in the system tray. It said my computer was infected. Then a bunch of alerts keep popping up giving different warning signs.

Anyway, it took a long time and help from volunteer professionals at bleepingcomputer.com to clean up my computer. I found out it was a rogue security program that got downloaded to my computer somehow.

During this time I used my work laptop to read some of my favorite blogs and even commented on a few. But I really don't like to use it for my personal stuff much so I didn't post anything on my blog. Now that my computer is feeling much better I can try to catch up on the last few weeks.

For week nine of my training the intervals were 9/1, which I managed to do, at least for some of the intervals. That week another runner in the group brought her four month old baby in his stroller. She was struggling to push the stroller up a hill while holding him (because he was fussing) so I stopped to help. She asked if I would push the stroller as I ran. I now have complete admiration for women that run while pushing a stroller! That thing wasn't easy to push empty. It has to be a challenge to push with a baby or larger child in it.

Week 10 is when we began running for 30 minutes without walking. I have to admit I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it. During the group run, my lungs and legs actually felt pretty good. I noticed that I was running a bit faster than I usually do. Quite a few of the other runners noticed and commented on how much I had improved. But for some reason, when I reached 15 minutes I decided I should stop and walk! I don't know why. I actually felt as though I could have kept going but just stopped.

Another beginning runner (F) was running with me and I noticed she seemed to be struggling and had stopped when I did. She was keeping track of our distance with her Nike Plus and said we had run 3/4 of a mile. We walked for about five minutes then ran another 3/4 mile. By then my legs were feeling pretty tired and I found myself struggling and couldn't keep going. I was a bit upset with myself for stopping when I was feeling good.

I ran once more between weeks 10 and 11 at the lake. I had such a difficult time with my lungs but managed to run for over 16 minutes before walking. After getting home I realized I had forgotten to use my inhaler before going running. No wonder I felt like I couldn't catch my breath!

Week 11, which was last Wednesday, we were scheduled for another 30 minutes non-stop. Since it was the first Wednesday of September, it was potluck night. We gathered at a member's house, got all the great food together, and then took off for our run. I ran with the F from week 10.

This time we were both feeling good. My lungs had never felt better (I remembered to use my inhaler about 40 minutes before the run) and my legs didn't feel tired at all. When I announced that we had less than a minute left before the five minute cool down walk, she said that we had run for 2 1/4 miles and asked if I felt good enough to go an additional 3/4 mile for a total of 3 miles! I just wish we would have thought to run the additional .1 to make it a 5k.

Let me tell you - that last 1/4 mile, we were huffing and puffing but didn't stop. We ran 3 miles without stopping! When we did stop my legs felt like jello. I had a bit of a wobble in my walk for a while as we walked back to the house, but man did I feel great!

I can't believe I ran 3 miles! Compared to most of you, 3 miles isn't much. But I also know that all of you had to start at the beginning. I'm sure you all felt just as elated the first time you ran a significant milestone without stopping. And I'm sure you're all celebrating the success of my milestone with me.

Yesterday I ran at the lake hoping I could run the 3 miles again, but wasn't able to. My right thigh started hurting. The pain ran down my thigh to the outside of the knee. Since tomorrow I run my first 5k, I made sure to take it easy and took a few ibuprofen. Now I'm a little afraid it might start hurting during the run.

Today (my 55th birthday) I picked up my race packet. I'm excited and a bit scared (don't know why) at the same time. No matter what happens or what my time is, even if I come in dead last, I'll be successful just for the fact that I did it!